''Robbery Under Arms'' is a 1890 play by

Alfred Dampier Alfred Dampier (28 February 1843? 1847? – 23 May 1908) was an English-born actor-manager and playwright, active in Australia.John Rickard,Dampier, Alfred (1843–1908), '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 4, Melbourne University Pre ...

and

Garnet Walch Garnet Walch (1 October 1843 in Broadmarsh (Tasmania) – 3 January 1913 in Melbourne), was an Australian writer, dramatist, journalist and publisher. From 1872 on, he became very popular as author of numerous pantomimes, burlesques, melodramas, ...

based on the novel of the same name by

Rolf Boldrewood Thomas Alexander Browne (born Brown, 6 August 1826 – 11 March 1915) was an Australian author who published many of his works under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood. He is best known for his 1882 bushranging novel '' Robbery Under Arms''. Biog ...

History

In 1889 Dampier secured the exclusive rights to prepare a dramatization of the Boldrewood novel. This was not an easy task, as the novel is mostly first person descriptive, with very little dialogue, and great sections had to be omitted, notably the opening chapter, in which "Captain Starlight" takes 2000 head of stolen cattle overland from country New South Wales to Adelaide. The play premiered on March 1, 1890, following Walch's dramatization of Victor Hugo's ''

Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with '' The Three Musketeers''. ...

''.

Opening night

The play was staged on 1 March 1890 at the Alexandra Theatre, Melbourne, which Dampier had on a long lease. T. A. Browne and family were guests of honour in a

stage box A stage box is an interface device used in sound reinforcement and recording studios to connect equipment to a mixing console. It provides a central location to connect microphones, instruments, and speakers to a multicore cable (snake), which ...

. The following were principal players that evening: *Alfred Dampier as Captain Starlight *Walter E. Baker as Dick Marston, his loyal lieutenant *Watkin Wynne as Jim Marston, the amiable reluctant outlaw * Edmund Holloway as Ben Marston * Lily Dampier as Aileen Marston *

Alfred Boothman Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

as George Storefield, an industrious settler * Carrie Bilton as Billy the Boy *

Harry Stoneham Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

as the cold-blooded villain Dick Moran *

J. B. Atholwood James Brown Atholwood (c. 1864 – 11 March 1931) was an Australian actor, a member of J. C. Williamson's company. His voice was too distinctive to take leading roles, but he was admirable in character parts. He was convicted of bigamy after a pu ...

as Warrigal, the Aboriginal hero * Katherine Russell as the vengeful Kate Morrison * Julia Merton as elderly spinster Euphrosyne Aspen, a comic character *J. Caesar, as trooper Maginnis, another comic character * Reg Rede, trooper O'Hara, also a comic character Six years later the play had evolved somewhat with a couple of new characters but very few cast changes: *

F. C. Appleton Frederick Charles Appleton (1835 – 14 February 1914) was an Australian actor, noted as a Shakespearean character actor, a "painstaking studious aspirant for histrionic honours", praised for his "considerable ability and tact". In 1883 he earned a ...

as Sir Ferdinand Merringer * Charles Field as Inspector Goring *

George Buller General Sir George Buller (1802 – 12 April 1884) was an English general officer of the British Army who served in the Rifle Brigade and as a commander of a brigade in the Crimean War. Life He was the third son of General Frederick William B ...

as trooper O'Hara *Belcher as trooper Maginnis * Alfred Rolfe as Dick Marston * Herbert Forrest as Jim Marston

Notes

References

{{Reflist Australian plays adapted into films 1890 plays